Did Citigroup have to pay interest or make a late fee on two years’ of missed payments? No. Was its credit rating affected? No. Did it have a lien placed on its headquarters or bank branches, as would many debtors who failed to pay? No. Did the OCC call them in the middle of the night and threaten to garnish their tax refund? No. Were they in any way treated the way “deadbeat borrowers” are in this country? Nah. In fact, they got to use that $20 million for two years, and profit from it, without punishment.

LA Community leaders, harmed homeowners, and advocates all called on the Federal Reserve and OCC to deny the merger unless substantial improvements are made.Feb 27, 2015- Los Angeles- Yesterday, community reinvestment advocates spoke against the proposed merger of CIT Group and OneWest Bank during a day-long hearing hosted by the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Some believe the hearing was held in response to the over 21,000 individuals who signed petitions opposing the merger, in addition to 100 California and national organizations who are opposing the merger. CRC live-tweeted the hearing.

Critics raised concerns at the hearing that can be claified into three main categories.

First, the history of OneWest Bank and CIT Group raises serious questions about how communities would fare if the merger is approved.

Second, promises to help individual nonprofits may be helpful for those nonprofits (especially in the short-term) but they…

Replacement checks are being mailed this week to borrowers eligible for payment under the Independent Foreclosure Review Payment Agreements and who have not yetcashed or deposited their check, the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced Wednesday. The checks are being sent by the paying agent, Rust Consulting, Inc., to replaceuncashed checks that have now expired.Agreements reached in January 2013 between federal bank regulatory agencies and 13 mortgage servicers provided $3.6 billion in cash payments to borrowers whose homes were in any stage of the foreclosure process in 2009 or 2010. The mortgages were serviced by one of the following 13 companies, their affiliates, or subsidiaries: Aurora, Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife Bank, Morgan Stanley, PNC, Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. The payments ranged from several hundred dollars to $125,000 plus lost equity.

Beginning in April 2013, payments were mailed to all of the nearly 4.2 million in-scope borrowers of these servicers. As of January 2015, more than 3.4 million of these checks, totaling more than $3.1 billion, had been cashed or deposited. This represents approximately 87 percent of the total amount of funds these servicers were required to pay.

Nearly 600,000 checks mailed to borrowers of these 13 servicers remain outstanding, and have now expired. As part of the agencies’ ongoing efforts to reach these borrowers, the paying agent was directed to conduct additional searches of updated addresses. The current mailing represents the third attempt directed by the agencies to provide checks to in-scope borrowers. Borrowers who have already cashed or deposited their checks will not receive additional payment. Borrowers must cash or deposit the replacement checks within 90 days of the issue date or the check will be void.

After January 2013, similar agreements were reached with federal bank regulatory agencies that provided cash payments to borrowers whose homes were in any stage of the foreclosure process in 2009 or 2010 and whose mortgages were serviced by GMAC Mortgage and EverBank. As of year-end 2014, payments were mailed to all of the in-scope borrowers of these two servicers. Replacement checks for borrowers of GMAC Mortgage who have not yet cashed or deposited their checks are expected to be mailed by Rust Consulting, Inc., by May 2015.

Borrowers whose mortgages were serviced by one of the 13 servicers that entered into agreements in January 2013 or by GMAC Mortgage should call Rust Consulting, Inc. with questions at 888-952-9105, Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. EST or Saturday between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST. Borrowers who had a mortgage serviced by EverBank should contact the paying agent for that agreement, Epiq Systems, with questions at 877-819-9754.

PUBLIC HEARING IS IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITY FOR CUSTOMERS TO WEIGH IN WITH BANK REGULATORS

If your mortgage was originated by Financial Freedom or IndyMac, or if your mortgage was serviced by OneWest Bank, then we have an important announcement to share with you.

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced they would hold a public hearing on the proposed merger of OneWest with CIT Group.

If you had an experience with OneWest Bank that was less stellar, you should consider sharing your experience with the Federal Reserve and OCC. As part of the public hearing announcement, the regulators also announced they were extending the public comment period on the merger until February 26, 2015.

Better yet, if you’re in Los Angeles, consider attending the public hearing. If you’re not speaking, you can just show up. But, if you’d like to speak, you need to tell the regulators and information on how to do that is listed below.

If you are in Los Angeles and would like to weigh in on the merger, there is a public hearing being held on February 26th. All persons wishing to testify at the public meeting must submit a written request no later than 5:00 p.m. PST on February 20, 2015. A request to testify may be sent by mail to: Scott Turner, Vice President, Community Engagement, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 101 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94105; by e-mail to: sf.community.development.info@sf.frb.org; or by facsimile: 415-977-4011.

If you can’t make the hearing, but want to share your views, you can send an email to: comments.applications@ny.frb.org and WE.Licensing@occ.treas.gov. If you have personal experiences with OneWest Bank, CIT Group, or Financial Freedom, it is probably a good idea to mention that in your email.

Did you have a mortgage from IndyMac Bank, OneWest Bank, or a reverse mortgage from Financial Freedom? Federal bank regulators are holding a public hearing about a proposed merger of CIT Group and OneWest Bank. If you’ve had negative experiences with OneWest or Financial Freedom, you may want to take a look at this blog post and consider emailing the Federal Reserve and OCC so they have an accurate picture of OneWest’s servicing practices.

If you’re wondering why people are opposed the the merger of CIT Group and OneWest Bank, watch this short Prezi!

It outlines the many problems with this proposed merger. If, after viewing it, you’d like to weigh in with regulators, please visit CRC’s Resource page to get the two email addresses for the regulators who are reviewing this proposed merger.

Thank you for following this blog. We’re writing to let you know that as the ForeclosureHelp program has transitioned, this blog has also transitioned. Looking to the future, this blog will be maintained by an independent blog editor who anticipates continuing to write on issues of interest to consumers.

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ForeclosureHelpSCC

ForeclosureHelpSCC is a program sponsored by the cities of San Jose and Sunnyvale that helps homeowners and tenants affected by foreclosures. The services are funded through a federal grant and are provided free to homeowners or tenants. We have HUD-approved housing counselors on site. Please call us if you have foreclosure questions or to set up an appointment: (408) 293-6000.